Two Questions About R9 280x

[Karmacharger]

Hello Guys.
i got 2 questions about this R9 280x card.

First , Can my pc specs handle this AMD R9 280x? and here's my pc specs.

Power Supply 500 watts (Don't know the model.)
Mainboard : ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8H61-M LX
Chipset : Intel Ivy Bridge
Processor : Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3200 MHz (max : 3600)
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (1 x 2048 DDR3-SDRAM )
Video Card : ASUS AMD Radeon EAH6870
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD5000AAKX-001CA0 ATA Device (500GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : Toshiba-Samsung CDDVDW SH-S223C
Monitor Type : Samsung S27B350 - 27 inches
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Windows 7 Ultimate Professional Media Center 6.01.7601 Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
DirectX : Version 11.00

Second , What's the difference between a R9 280X and a HD 7970?

Thanks.

 

[thasan1]

yes you PC can easily handle it. though 2GB is really low and it's gonna hold back he system. try upgrading to AT LEAST 4 GB and if possible 6-8GB.

and there isn't much difference between 7970 and R9-280X. they are from the same architecture and have the same amount of shaders vram and memory bandwidth, though R9-280X is clocked a little higher.

oh and you probably need to install win7 64bit. 32bit can only handle upto 4GB (CPU+GPU) so if you install R9-280X 3GB one then either cards memory will switch to 2GB usable or system memory will switch 1GB usable.

oh and also PSU brand is kinda important, if its a cheap generic one it wil blow out and my also kill your GPU/ mobo or both in the process.

 

[_zxzxzx_]

Handle the R9 280X in terms of what exactly? As far as I can see, there won't be any bottlenecks with the CPU but the PSU may not be adequate as the R9 280X has a TDP of 250W, 100W higher than the 6870 so I'd check the specs of the 12v rail to be sure. Also, what do you plan on using this system for? That's a better idea of how well it could do something.

The R9 280X is really just a rebranded 7970 but with some tweaks and updates such as mantle.

 

[Karmacharger]

yes you PC can easily handle it. though 2GB is really low and it's gonna hold back he system. try upgrading to AT LEAST 4 GB if possible 6-8GB

and there isn't much difference between 7970 and R9-280X. they are from the same architecture and have the same amount of shaders vram and memory bandwidth, though R9-280X is clocked a little higher.

Actually , does Physical Memory means RAM? i copied those specs model details from PC Wizard and my RAM are 4 GB

 

[Karmacharger]

Handle the R9 280X in terms of what exactly? As far as I can see, there won't be any bottlenecks with the CPU but the PSU may not be adequate as the R9 280X has a TDP of 250W, 100W higher than the 6870 so I'd check the specs of the 12v rail to be sure. Also, what do you plan on using this system for? That's a better idea of how well it could do something.

The R9 280X is really just a rebranded 7970 but with some tweaks and updates such as mantle.

i need it for gaming.

 

[thasan1]

@Karmacharger yes physical memory means ram. but either way you need a 64bit OS and also try opening the side panel of the case and check the PSU's name model etc.

 

[Karmacharger]

@Karmacharger yes physical memory means ram. but either way you need a 64bit OS and also try opening the side panel of the case and check the PSU's name model etc.

Oh i see , Thank you pretty much for the answer and sure , will do right now.

 

[Karmacharger]

@Karmacharger yes physical memory means ram. but either way you need a 64bit OS and also try opening the side panel of the case and check the PSU's name model etc.

Alright , here my power supply model name (Gigabyte PoweRock AX < GZ-EHS60A-C2> 600W ATX Black)

 

[_zxzxzx_]

I couldn't find the 600W model on the Gigabyte website but the 500W model can handle the R9 280X so the 600W would too.

 

[Karmacharger]

I couldn't find the 600W model on the Gigabyte website but the 500W model can handle the R9 280X so the 600W would too.

Alright , Thanks for answering my question. The only problem is that my chassis doesn't have enough space for the R9 280X. i was wondering does pc chassis expensive nowdays? i just need that one will fit the R9 280X

 

[_zxzxzx_]

They're not too expensive imo, which do you have now? A cheap one but decent one can be around $50 and a good one is around $80.

 

[Karmacharger]

They're not too expensive imo, which do you have now? A cheap one but decent one can be around $50 and a good one is around $80.

After my 10 minutes research and here is it (Cooler Master RC 310 Elite) is what i am using now http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mid-tower/elite-310.html

i am looking for the cheapest price one as long it has enough space for the R9 280x.

 

[thasan1]

if your using CM elite 310 then i dont think you need the change case. it should easily fit in your case.

 

[Karmacharger]

if your using CM elite 310 then i dont think you need the change case. it should easily fit in your case.

I'm not too sure if that will fit my case because my HD 6870 does fit inside without having a space. This is the sapphire R9 280x i wanted (http://media.sapphiretech.com//images/prods/2022/11221-00_R9_280X_DUALX_3GGDDR5_DP_HDMI_2DVI_PCIE_C01_635161493811530711_600_600.jpg)

here's my case http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/909/nlpj.jpg
This is how longer are my 6870 http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/8752/l6mi.jpg

i hope pictures are better than explaining , sorry i'm suck at english.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Handle the R9 280X in terms of what exactly? As far as I can see, there won't be any bottlenecks with the CPU but the PSU may not be adequate as the R9 280X has a TDP of 250W, 100W higher than the 6870 so I'd check the specs of the 12v rail to be sure. Also, what do you plan on using this system for? That's a better idea of how well it could do something.

The R9 280X is really just a rebranded 7970 but with some tweaks and updates such as mantle.

Huh? The 7970 should be able to work with Mantle, it's not in the card you know it's an API that the card can run.

 

[thasan1]

@Karmacharger well according to the dimensions of your case (CM elite 310) it seemd to me R9280X should fit.

 

[Karmacharger]

Handle the R9 280X in terms of what exactly? As far as I can see, there won't be any bottlenecks with the CPU but the PSU may not be adequate as the R9 280X has a TDP of 250W, 100W higher than the 6870 so I'd check the specs of the 12v rail to be sure. Also, what do you plan on using this system for? That's a better idea of how well it could do something.

The R9 280X is really just a rebranded 7970 but with some tweaks and updates such as mantle.

Huh? The 7970 should be able to work with Mantle, it's not in the card you know it's an API that the card can run.

Really? well i'll hope that will do. Thank you and also which brand should i choose? Best for gaming

@Karmacharger well according to the dimensions of your case (CM elite 310) it seemd to me R9280X should fit.

 

[thasan1]

id go with Asus DCII or MSi twin frzr or MSI windforce it doesnt really matter acutally.

 

[Karmacharger]

id go with Asus DCII or MSi twin frzr or MSI windforce it doesnt really matter acutally.

i'll go with MSI or Sapphire then also would you like to explain what so difference with all the graphic card brands on the same model?

 

[thasan1]

@Karmacharger they normally have different and different clock speeds. so performance varies by 1-2%.

 

[Karmacharger]

@Karmacharger they normally have different and different clock speeds. so performance varies by 1-2%.

it doesn't really matter if that's all. Well again thank you pretty much for your answers. i've buy that card tomorrow

 

[thasan1]

ok you may need o change the PSU. i did a little research and i didn't find any review of you PSU at any site, or even the name of it. so i think is probably best if you upgrade to your PSU to something decent like corsair CX 600W. as think your PSu will pretty much blow out under full load...

 

[Karmacharger]

ok you may need o change the PSU. i did a little research and i didn't find any review of you PSU at any site, or even the name of it. so i think is probably best if you upgrade to your PSU to something decent like corsair CX 600W. as think your PSu will pretty much blow out under full load...

i bought a R9 290 and it works fine.

 

[thasan1]

@Karmacharger R9-290, i thought you were going to buy the R9-280X. i think you made a slight mistake man. as custom cooled R9-290's were gonna come out by late january! not that it performs crappy now but you'd get approx 5-10% performance boost with the custoom cooler... still i guess you have a 1080p monitor its gonna last you 3 years atleast